North Texans awoke up to a blanket of snow on Feb. 14, 2021, that turned Fort Worth neighborhoods into winter wonderlands filled with snowmen and sledding. But unlike most winter storms in Texas, where the snow is gone in a day or two, temperatures remained well below freezing for nine days.
It ended up being the coldest winter storm in Texas since December 1989, a record-breaking disaster that caused widespread, prolonged power outages across Texas. Every county as far south as the Rio Grande River was under a winter storm warning, some experiencing wind chills below zero. More than 200 people died.
Here’s a look back at Star-Telegram photos of those brutal days in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021
A layer of snow coats the ground in the Fairmount neighborhood of Fort Worth on Feb. 14, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Snow falls along Main Street near the Tarrant County Courthouse on Feb. 14, 2021 in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Josh Block, left, makes a tiny snowman with his daughter, Birdie, 5, on Feb. 14, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Snow sticks to the roads along Camp Bowie Blvd. on Feb. 14, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
A vehicle drives on Magnolia Avenue on Feb. 14, 2021, in Fort Worth. ERCOT, which oversees Texas’ electric grind, began rotating outages early Monday Feb. 15, 2021 to reduce the demand on energy as Texans try to keep warm. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Monday, Feb. 15
Snow covers the streets after a storm on Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
The Trinity River is mostly frozen on Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Caleb Smith sleds down the hill on Feb. 15, 2021, at Trinity Park in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Vehicles drive on a snowy Interstate 30 on Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth. North Texas experienced record breaking low temperatures and the entire state of Texas was under a winter warning advisory. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
People walk through downtown Fort Worth on Feb. 15, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
A man helps to push a truck off a patch of ice at the intersection of West 7th Street and Henderson Street on Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
The sun sets on another cold and snowy day in Fort Worth on Feb. 15, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Tuesday, Feb. 16
Fort Worth remains under a layer of snow on Feb. 16, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Vehicles slowly make their way through the intersection of North Main Street and Exchange Avenue on Feb. 16, 2021, in Fort Worth. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
A group of pedestrians cross West Berry Street after stocking up at Walgreens on Feb. 16, 2021, in Fort Worth. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Traffic lights are out on a stretch of West 7th Street in Fort Worth on Feb. 16, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Streets are covered with snow after the region got another one to three inches of snow on Feb. 17, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Scott Blocker uses a blower to clear the sidewalks in front of a shopping center on Camp Bowie Blvd. on Feb. 17, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
There were 81 confirmed water main breaks as of the morning of Feb. 18, 2021 in Fort Worth, and crews still needed to check on another 128 reports. Water from a water main break flows down the street in Fort Worth’s Arlington Heights neighborhood on Feb. 17, 2021, in Fort Worth. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Leti Saldivar calls out an order from the food truck Pepe’s Taqueria in the Fairmount neighborhood on Feb. 17, 2021. Saldivar said she set up the popup outside of her home to serve tacos to the neighborhood as winter weather continues in North Texas. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Dusk settles over the Fairmount neighborhood of Fort Worth after another cold and snowy day on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Thursday, Feb. 18
Snow starts to turn to slush on South Main Street in Fort Worth on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, as temperatures inch above freezing. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Burger’s Lake put a hose on their natural spring and are suppling people with clean water on Feb. 18, 2021, in Fort Worth. The spring flows to the Trinity River in the winter and it was diverted to help people during the storm. Yffy Yossifor yyossifor@star-telegram.com
Water gushes from a water main break at the 1200 block of West Magnolia Avenue on Feb. 18, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Macy Moore, co-owner of HopFusion Ale Works, left, fills up growlers with water for Aaron Villanueva, right, as Isabel Villanueva, 9, watches on Feb. 18, 2021. The brewery had 2,000 gallons of clean, drinkable water is it giving away to anyone in need. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Maddy Howard, 15, right, and her sister Jane, 10, sled down a hill on Bryan Avenue in the Near Southside neighborhood of Fort Worth on Feb. 18, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Friday, Feb. 19
A line of cars wait in line for food during a food bank distribution by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County in partnership with Tarrant Area Food Bank on Friday, February 19, 2021. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Staff with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County load food into cars during a food distribution in partnership with Tarrant Area Food Bank on Friday, February 19, 2021. A line of vehicles wrapped around a two block area when the distribution began at noon at the Hemphill location. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM.
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Amanda McCoy is a visual journalist that produces daily and documentary videos. Before moving to Fort Worth in 2018, she spent 11 years telling the stories of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. She is a native of Michigan and graduate of Michigan State University.
